U.S. illicit drug use up while smoking rate down: survey

Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-08 10:17:06|Editor: liuxin
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- More Americans are using marijuana and abusing opioids, though fewer are smoking tobacco products or abusing alcohol, according to a new report from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Up to 7 percent of those over the age of 25 have used marijuana, up from some 4 percent a decade ago, the report found. Moreover, those aged 18 to 25 are most likely to have used pot recently, as one-fifth of Americans in this age group reported using marijuana last month.

The report also showed almost 12 million Americans over the age of 12 misused opioids last year. Thirteen percent of those, or more than a million Americans, said they abused opioids specifically to get high, and more than half of abusers said they got their drugs from a friend or relative.

In comparison, the number of U.S. people smoking cigarettes on a regular basis declined from about a quarter a decade ago to about one in five today, according to the report.

Alcohol abuse is also following a positive trend, declining among all age groups and especially among those between 18 and 25.

However, as many as 15 million Americans still abuse alcohol, the report found.

Drug overdoses killed about 64,000 Americans last year, according to the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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